Leaders in the education sector have insisted that Mathematics will only be compulsory in primary and junior secondary school.
Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) chairman, Julius Nyabundi, yesterday said primary and junior level Mathematics was enough to build understanding in the subject. It also emerged that performance in Mathematics in secondary schools over the years has been poor compared to end of primary schools tests.
Andrew Otieno, Knec deputy director, Quality Assurance and Archives, said analysis on KCPE and KCSE examinations shows that learners portray a commendable performance in Mathematics while exiting primary school but a major decline is seen when they sit their Form Four examination.
A look at the 2022 examination, for example, shows that over 80 per cent of candidates scored between Grade A and D+ at the Class Eight level, but the numbers went down to 17.46 per cent in KCSE.
The dismal performance placed students’ final examination in secondary school in Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia ahead of Kenyan candidates. However, Otieno said this is not as a result of a difficult curriculum but rather the rigid grading and assessment system.
“This highlights the need to reconsider core subjects in senior school, ensuring mathematics is taken only by students whose courses require it,” he said.
He was speaking yesterday during the opening of the second Knec Annual Symposium on Competency Based Assessment in Nairobi.
In an interview on the sidelines of the symposium, Nyabundi claimed learners will have gained the relevant arithmetic literacy by the end of junior secondary school thus beating the purpose of making it compulsory in the senior secondary school.
“Competency-Based Curriculum is designed to enhance foundational skills by the end of junior secondary school (Grade 9),” he said.
Nyabundi said focus could shift to subjects aligned with learners strengths, such as humanities or vocational skills, to improve overall academic and learning outcomes.
This comes after an uproar by a section of the public after the Ministry of Education revealed Mathematics would be an optional subject at higher levels. Instead, English, Kiswahili or Kenya Sign Language, Community Service Learning and Physical Education would be the compulsory subjects.
But at the same time, it is projected that up to 60 per cent of students in senior secondary school will take mathematics as they will pursue the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) pathway.
Otieno argued that the decision to make mathematics compulsory is disadvantageous to learners inclined to the arts pathway.
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Knec said the change could address the “dismal pass rate below 30 per cent” in KCSE mathematics.
He also claimed that many national examination boards in the region follow a similar pattern.
At the same time, the inclusion of Community Service Learning and Physical Education as mandatory subjects has been defended.
Eunice Gachoka from the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development said research has showed the Physical Education helps in developing an all-round student.
“Whether it’s psychomotor, coordination, cognitive development, Physical Education has been found to help in the wholesome development of a student and that is why it is considered as a compulsory subject,” she said.
Community Service Learning, she said, would develop a patriotic and responsible citizenry. This is as various speakers dug into the erosion of social values and patriotism among Kenyans.
By Lewis Nyaundi
